A BID to force the British government to bankroll burial of loved ones in Bangladesh, Indian or Pakistan has failed. Four Oldham benefit claimants argued that because claimants got grants towards burials in the UK the same support should be available to Muslims who want to organise funerals abroad. But their case has been thrown out by Appeal Court judges who argued that there were acceptable facilities for Muslim burials in the UK that would qualify for grants if the family concerned were living on benefits. The four argued that the ban on death benefits abroad was a violations of their human rights. They were backed by the Citizens Advice Bureau in a test case. Dismissing the claims Lord Justice Carnwath said it was "a matter of choice" not of "necessity" whether the claimants' loved ones were buried in the UK or countries of their birth. He added: "Decisions on the allocation of public funds for such purposes are questions of social policy, not law." The judges heard earlier that one of the claimants, Abdul Latif, aged 76 of Selwyn Close, Coppice, Oldham, wanted a grant following his wife Zarina Begum's funeral in Pakistan. Hawarun Nessa, 59, of Rochdale Road, Coldhurst, Oldham, laid her husband to rest in Bangladesh while Momirum Nessa, 50, arranged husband Akmod Ali's funeral also in Bangladesh. Hossein Esfandiari, also from Oldham, buried his wife in their native Iran. Their barrister, Richard Drabble QC, argued that the "funeral in the UK" restriction entailed "indirect discrimination" against emigrees who settled here, but retained a link, either emotional or religious with their original nations. Lord Justice Carnwath acknowledged that funerals abroad were not necessarily more expensive than UK ceremonies. In 2001/2003 the average UK grant was £912. One of the four had sought £927 pay-out for a Bangladeshi funeral. But the judge argued that it was artificial to argue that the four, and others, made-up an "identifiable group" in the UK which had been discriminated against under the Human Rights Convention.